Crisis of a Noble Tiger
by Psyga315
Summary: It had been a while since the destruction of the Scalar System, yet the smoke is still present in Takatora's head. Is what he's doing enough? Is there another way to prevent Helheim without resorting to murder?


Takatora stood over and watched Zawame City from his office. Though it had been weeks since the incident, he could still imagine the smoke from the rings of the tower.

" _You can't torch the evidence anymore. If you want to keep your secrets, get serious about protecting the city from the Inves!_ "

Those haunting words… from a kid of all people. He mulled it for so many nights since that day. " _Isn't what I'm doing serious enough?_ " He asked. The Scalar system, Project Ark, the Energy Riders, all those were measures to protect humanity from an inevitable fate. A necessary sacrifice to secure hope. He even told the kid that… and all it got him was one of those measures destroyed.

So why, why do these words stab at him?

The doors open. Takatora turned around to see the familiar, smug face of the professor.

"What brings you here?" Takatora asked.

"What? Can't an old friend come by to say hello once in a while?" Ryouma said.

"…" Takatora sighed and sat down. "Sorry, I'm still on edge after what happened. You're certain that power is not one of your inventions like with the Genesis Core he has?" Takatora asked.

"No. I wish it was though…" Ryouma muttered the last sentence. Takatora picked up his tea cup and swivelled his chair to look out the window again.

"How's Project Ark coming along?" He asked.

"So far we've completed five hundred Sengoku Drivers." Ryouma said.

"Have you found any way of speeding up the process?" Takatora asked.

"No. That'd result in inferior and unresponsive Drivers. Why? Do you feel like we won't have ten years?" He asked.

"No. I feel like we're not saving enough people." Takatora said.

"People die every day to the Inves. Before you know it, there will be a wall dedicated to missing people posters and it will be filled." Ryouma said. "We need to focus on the portion we _can_ save." Ryouma said.

"And the portion that we can't? What do we do with them? Kill them. Do you feel something wrong about it?" Takatora asked.

"No. Do _you_?" Ryouma asked.

"… No. Even if I _do_ , I still have to carry it out to save this world." Takatora said.

"So why all these second thoughts?" Ryouma asked.

"… A week ago, I received a phone call from one of the staff members. They said they saw a giant robot fighting a large Inves. Can you believe that?" Takatora asked.

"Can't say I can." Ryouma chuckled.

"Of course not! But… Had I believed him… Had Kazuraba Kouta not destroyed the Scalar System… Would I go so far as to blow up Zawame, knowing that I'd doom almost everyone? What if what he said was false? What if he cried wolf? Blood would be on my hands." Takatora said. There was a brief pause. "… It's why I had Sid kill that boy."

"Hm?" Ryouma pondered.

"I told him that he was his responsibility, but _I_ was the one who destroyed his Sengoku Driver. I was the one who didn't pay attention when he was about to eat the fruit. Had I stopped to think for any of those times, Ryoji Hase would still be alive. His blood was on my hands. I couldn't make it bloodier by killing him." Takatora said. Ryouma sighed.

"I see now… You're just stressed about this whole thing. Why don't you take a few days off, spend some time with your brother, and leave the handling of Kouta to me?" Ryouma asked.

"You know I can't just lie down and watch the clock tick. I need to get serious about protecting people from the Inves." Takatora said.

"And you know that would mean going through with Project Ark once the Sengoku Drivers are complete, right?" Ryouma asked.

"… Yes. I do. Thank you, Ryouma. I needed you to help steer me in the right direction." Takatora got up and began to walk off. "But… if you know of something that could help solve this problem of Helheim Forest, you'd let me know, right?" Takatora asked Ryouma. Ryouma smiled, the knowledge of the Overlords and the Golden Fruit fresh in his head.

"… Of course I will." He said.

"Good." Takatora left the room. Ryouma's smile faded. How the hell is he going to keep Takatora from regretting Project Ark for the next ten years?


End file.
